Nutritional Values

There's no need for you to spend lots of time measuring out portions and calculating your vitamin intake, but you might like some guidelines to help you make sure you're eating as well as possible. You can balance your intake of different nutrients over a couple of days, rather than at every meal.

Daily Needs

So that you and your baby have the best possible diet, try to eat the following each day-each of the suggested sources represents a single portion. It's a good idea to vary the food you choose.

• First-class proteins-three servings
• Vitamin C foods-two servings
• Calcium foods-four servings in pregnancy, five when nursing
• Green leafy and yellow vegetables and fruits-three servings
• Other fruit and vegetables-one or two servings
• Whole grains and complex carbohydrates-four or five servings
• Iron-rich food-two servings
• Fluids-eight glasses a day, not coffee or alcohol. Water is best.

Vitamin And Mineral Sources

Foods can provide all the vitamins and minerals we need, except for vitamin D. The chart below is a guide to the best sources of essential vitamins and minerals. They tend to be easily destroyed, so try to eat foods that are as fresh as possible. Some foods contain a range of vitamins and minerals.